Lansingburgh man gets 50 years in jail
Vega found guilty of killing local woman
TROY >> A Rensselaer County Court judge sentenced the man convicted of killing the mother of his unborn child just days before she was scheduled to give birth to the maximum prison term Thursday for what he called a “horrific and cowardly” act.
Gabriel Vega was ordered by Judge Andrew Ceresia to serve 50 years behind bars after Vega was convicted in June of manslaughter, arson and abortion charges in the April 2014 death of Vanessa Milligan inside her Lansingburgh apartment.
“This defendant deserves no mercy from the court, and he will get none,” Ceresia said as he pronounced Vega’s sentence before a large audience that include friends and family of Milligan, as well as police, firefighters and others who were involved in the investigation.
Prosecutors said Vega killed Milligan inside her apartment at 271 Fifth Ave. because Kim Virola, his former girlfriend and
mother of a child with him, found out he was the father of Milligan’s baby, who was scheduled to be delivered six days after Milligan was killed. Prosecutors said Vega first had sex with Milligan, then strangled her to death, pulled a 2-liter soda bottle filled with gasoline from a backpack he was carrying, poured it over her body and set her ablaze inside the apartment she had shared with her grandmother, who died earlier that day after battling cancer. The fire destroyed that building, which housed four apartments, as well as a two-family home next door.
Vega was sentenced to 25 years on a first-degree manslaughter charge, another 25 years on a seconddegree arson count and 2 1/3 to 7 years on a charge of first-degree abortion added because a murder or manslaughter charge could not be pursued for Alina’s death. Ceresia further went on to order that the manslaughter and arson sentences be served consecutively, while the abortion sentence would be served concurrently.
The judge also ordered Vega to pay more than $2,500 — over the objection of defense attorney Frederick Rench — to cover the funeral costs for both Milligan and their daughter, Alina Brielle. In emotional statements during the hearing, Milligan’s father and aunt
spoke about the devastation Vanessa’s death caused the family and said they want Vega to never see the outside of a prison again.
“Today, I need you to treat Gabe’s sentencing like a funeral,” Nathan Milligan, Vanessa’s father, told Ceresia. “This should be his funeral. This should be his demise. This should be the last day that he ever sees Troy, N.Y.”
Nathan Milligan noted that not only did Vega kill his daughter and granddaughter, but he also destroyed two homes, leaving others homeless, including Nathan’s girlfriend at the time, who lived upstairs in the same house as Vanessa. He further went on to allege that Vega had threatened him and his family from inside
jail.
“You have the chance right now to look at the fact that he killed my daughter, he set the fire, he had no concern for other people who were still alive,” Milligan told Ceresia. “He didn’t care. This man needs to understand that today, it’s over.”
In giving Vega the maximum sentence, Ceresia also cited that Vega has expressed no remorse, but Rench said his client shows no remorse because he still insists he didn’t kill Vanessa.
“Mr. Vega maintains his innocence,” Rench said. “He cannot be remorseful for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Rench said Vega plans to appeal the conviction, but also asked that the sentences be stacked concurrently — leaving him to serve a maximum of 25 years — citing, among other factors, that the jury chose to acquit Vega of the top charge, second-degree murder. “Why?” Rench said to Ceresia in asking for the shorter sentence. “Because of the verdict itself, because of the doubt in the jurors’ minds.”
Mark Robarge can be reached at 290-8362.